MONTREAL - Liberal MP Justin Trudeau says he might follow in his famous father's footsteps and run for the party leadership, but he told QMI Agency that his children are more important than his career ambitions.

The eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau said Wednesday that the party needs to focus on renewal - not leadership - after its dismal showing in Monday's federal election.

The party won a record-low 34 seats on Monday, a 43-seat loss that led party leader Michael Ignatieff to resign the following day.

When asked if he was thinking about replacing Ignatieff, Trudeau replied: "I've got to think about it, but I'm not yet sure that I'm the man for the job."

Trudeau said that while he's aware some Liberals would like him to take the top job, his family is his main priority.

"I'm a father of two," said Trudeau. "If I follow my father's example, I have to be a good parent before being a good prime minister."

Trudeau retained his Montreal riding of Papineau, but his party lost half of its seats in Quebec as voters swept NDP MPs into 58 of the province's 75 seats.

He said the historic NDP surge was a surprise.

"We didn't see the orange wave coming," Trudeau acknowledged, adding that voters seemed receptive to the Liberals in the final weeks of the campaign.

"I met several people who assured me that they wanted to vote Liberal for the first time, despite their sovereigntist tendencies."

He chalked up his party's failure to a lack of connection to voters.

"They (candidates) should have spent more time talking and listening to their constituents," he said.

Ignatieff ruled out a merger with the NDP to counter Stephen Harper's Conservatives, and Trudeau agrees.

"A merger is useful when our party is strong. Right now, our priority is to rebuild the (party)."